Liberia at a Crossroads: A preliminary look at the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the protection of civilians Festus B. Aboagye and Alhaji M. S. Bah ISS Paper 95 • November 2004 Price: R10.00 “As human beings, we cannot be neutral, or at least have former master sergeant in the Armed Forces of Liberia no right to be, when other human beings are suffering. (AFL), who had himself overthrown the last Americo- Each of us ... must do what he or she can to help those Liberian government of William R Tolbert on 12 April in need, even though it would be much safer and more 1980. Charles Taylor further promised to restore full comfortable to do nothing.” constitutional democracy through free and fair Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General elections, to rebuild the economy based on free enterprise and to unify all Liberians irrespective of class, social status, ethnic origin, religion or political INTRODUCTION affiliation. The anti-Doe dissidents exploited strained relations between the people of Nimba and President This paper is a preliminary attempt to look at the role of Doe to gain a foothold on Liberian territory. It should be the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in the remembered that the people of Nimba had suffered protection of civilians.1 In this vein, the reprisals by troops loyal to President Doe paper will briefly explore the political and after the 1985 abortive coup attempt by diplomatic developments leading to the General Thomas Quiwompa, who hailed deployment of the Economic Community from Nimba. of West African States (ECOWAS) Mission in Liberia (ECOMIL), its mandate and its ... by the time Under President Doe, Liberia benefited impact on the Liberian peace process. ECOMOG from the Cold War by aligning itself with The paper then focuses on the UNMIL, the United States (US). However, by the particularly its broad mandate, deployed in time the NPFL launched its attack, the deployment and the implementation of Liberia there was international political landscape was critical peacekeeping and peace-building virtually no peace undergoing significant changes in the tasks, notably disarmament, wake of the demise of the Soviet Union. demobilisation, rehabilitation and to keep Consequently, the US was ready to leave reintegration (DDRR), reform of the Doe – who for all intents and purposes security sector, issues of human rights as had become a liability – to his own fate well as the rule of law and transitional and devices. justice. These issues will be analysed with the aim of highlighting their crucial importance to the This pre-dawn invasion marked the beginning of one of overall peace process in general and the protection of the most brutal conflicts in West Africa’s post-colonial civilians in particular. The paper does not make policy history and in the Mano River Union area.3 As the recommendations or draw doctrinal principles and invading NPFL rebels blitzed through the north-east of statements, as these would be undertaken in the final Liberia, it left in its wake massive destruction and book/monograph. humanitarian crisis, as both the rebels and government forces deliberately targeted civilians on ethnic grounds or perceptions of suspected political affiliations. Entire BACKGROUND populations of towns and villages fled in the face of advancing forces towards Monrovia, the capital. On 24 December 1989, the National Patriotic Front of Besides the tens of thousands of Liberians evacuated by Liberia (NPFL), comprising Libyan-trained Liberian the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring and Observer dissidents, led by Charles Taylor,2 invaded Liberia’s Group (ECOMOG) in October 1990, it was estimated north-eastern Nimba County from Côte d’Ivoire. Taylor that by 1991, between a third and one-half of the declared that it was his binding duty, in 90 days, to rid population (2 to 2.5 million people) were displaced, Liberia of the despotism of President Samuel Doe, a while between 15,000 and 20,000 were killed.4 Aboagye & Bah • page 1 Paper 95 • November 2004 Given the unprecedented scale of the humanitarian in accordance with the relevant instruments. Under the catastrophe coupled with the indifference of the circumstance and in the wake of the upsurge of the international community, ECOWAS undertook efforts conflict in Sierra Leone, ECOMOG was in 1998 to deploy expeditiously a military intervention force withdrawn and redeployed for pacification operations (ECOMOG) to Liberia in August 1990. The ECOMOG against Foday Sankoh’s Revolutionary United Front force of about 2,600 troops was led by Nigeria, with (RUF): this was just before Taylor signed the Status of contingents from the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Forces Agreement (SOFA) in June 1998. (Conakry) and Sierra Leone. ECOMOG was mandated to assist the Standing Mediation Committee (SMC), With the whole theatre to himself and determined to which had been set up in May 1990, to supervise the consolidate his hold on power, President Taylor ceasefire and ensure compliance by all parties to the saturated the AFL – and the Liberian National Police conflict. However, by the time ECOMOG deployed in (LNP) – with his loyalists, thereby undermining national Liberia there was virtually no peace to keep, and given consensus and confidence in the country’s faltering the lack of good faith on the part of the various warring peace process. This situation effectively paved the way factions, ECOMOG had to take enforcement action to for the continuation of the conflict and its resurgence in establish the peace before it could keep it. 2002 and upsurge in early 2003. In the face of relentless NPFL pressure on Monrovia and In 2002, a group of exiled Liberians under the banner in rather bizarre circumstances, President Doe was of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy captured at the ECOMOG headquarters on 9 (LURD) invaded Liberia from neighbouring Guinea and September 1990 and was brutally murdered on 10 Sierra Leone. It did not take long for the coalition of September 1990 by the splinter group, the anti-Taylor forces in the guise of LURD to split, when Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) – a under Lieutenant Prince Johnson.5 The event coalition of former Doe loyalists and of Khran ethnic immediately led to a change of command from Ghana’s extraction – broke away. The split, however, enabled General Arnold Quainoo to Nigeria’s Major General the coalition of anti-Taylor forces to open two fronts Joshua N Dogonyaro.6 Under General Dogonyaro, the against Taylor’s forces: LURD in the west and MODEL strength of ECOMOG was augmented from 2,600 to in the east. Under military pressure from significant 6,000 in October 1990 to undertake the evacuation of rebel military advances in the north-west and south- some 30,000 Liberians. Subsequently, between 1990 east of the country respectively, Taylor agreed to and 1997, several ECOWAS ceasefires were brokered participate in ECOWAS-mediated peace talks in the and broken,7 while ECOMOG incrementally Ghanaian capital, Accra. augmented its size for a number of counter operations and disarmament exercises with limited results.8 Taylor’s position became increasingly untenable as the Meanwhile, in 1991, the war spilled over into Sierra arms embargo imposed on Liberia by the UN Security Leone and compounded the security dynamics of the Council for Liberia’s support to the RUF was beginning region. to have a serious impact on Taylor’s war machine. Consequently, the combination of LURD and MODEL United Nations (UN) intervention in the conflict in 1993 military pressure on Monrovia, the arms embargo and following the Cotonou Accord was too little too late, pressure from ECOWAS and the international when it established a Joint Ceasefire Monitoring community, coupled with soured relations with his Committee (JCMC). This was followed by the former mentors and backers – Côte d’Ivoire and (co)deployment of the 300-strong UN Observer Mission Burkina Faso – forced Charles Taylor to resign and go in Liberia (UNOMIL) and, between 1994 and 1995, the into exile in Nigeria. In his own words, Taylor made a establishment of the UN ‘Expanded ECOMOG’.9 This “soft landing” in exile in Nigeria, and made the deployment brought the strength of ECOMOG up to ominous promise: “I will be back.” The brutal civil war about 13,500, but this force level dropped significantly waged by former President Taylor fell far short of his with the departure of the Expanded ECOMOG, until the 1989 promise to return the country to constitutional electoral process in 1997 when additional West African democracy, economic reconstruction and nation troop contributions increased the force level to about building. 11,000. As in the 1990s, the upsurge in the conflict in Liberia After seven years of often bloody engagement, Charles created yet another cycle of serious humanitarian crises Taylor won the elections of July 1997. In his inaugural that trapped several thousands of civilians who had address on 19 August, Taylor pledged a government of returned to Liberia following the 1997 electoral inclusion, but no sooner was this over than key flag- process, halted the return of more returnees and sent a bearers of the political opposition were threatened into fresh wave of refugees across the borders. Except for exile. Furthermore, President Taylor – arguing that it more media coverage this time, the humanitarian crisis was his sovereign prerogative to restructure and retrain in Liberia failed to generate a robust international the AFL – made it difficult for Major General Victor response and compelled ECOWAS once again to Malu (Nigeria), the eighth ECOMOG force commander, intervene expeditiously to restore peace to Liberia. to carry out the restructuring and retraining of the AFL While negotiating with the UN for the deployment of a Aboagye & Bah • page 2 Paper 95 • November 2004 larger multinational force, ECOWAS deployed the catalyst and an impetus for prolongation of the civil 3,660-strong ECOMIL with the mandate to stabilise the conflict, with dire consequences for the civilian situation, pending the deployment of a larger population, Liberian national cohesion and regional multinational force under the command of the UN.